Electric shaver with rockable shaving head

ABSTRACT

A battery powered electric shaver with rockable shaving head which including shaving cutter blades and motor for driving movable cutter blade. The shaving head is separately provided from shaver body which including the battery and is rockably supported between a pair of arms extending from the shaver body. Electric connection between the head and the body is performed by a metal fitting exposed out of the head adjacent supporting axis for the head as connected to the motor and a conductive member disposed in the pair of arms as slidably butted at a resilient end against the metal fitting of the head and connected at the other end to the battery, so that the connection can be retained throughout rocking movement of the head. Between the metal fitting and the conductive member, there may be provided a clicking means to lock the head at predetermined rocked angles. Provision of a discontinuity in the metal fitting for interrupting butting connection of the conductive member at a predetermined angular position of the head allows normal ON-OFF switching means to be omitted.

United States Patent m1 Yamada et a].

[ Mar. 19, 19:74

[73] Assignee: Matsushita Electric Works Ltd., Osaka, Japan [22] Filed: Jan. 30, 1973 [2i] Appl. No.: 327,935

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS l,l52,270 9/l957 France 30/43.6

Primary Examiner-Othell M. Simpson Assistant Examiner-Gary L. Smith Attorney, Agent, or FirmWolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit and Osann, Ltd.

571 ABSTRACT A battery powered electric shaver with rockable shaving head which including shaving cutter blades and motor for driving movable cutter blade. The shaving head is separately provided from shaver body which including the battery and is rockably supported between a pair of arms extending from the shaver body. Electric connection between the head and the body is performed by a metal fitting exposed out of the head adjacent supporting axis for the head as connected to the motor and a conductive member disposed in the pair of arms as slidably butted at a resilient end against the metal fitting of the head and connected at the other end to the battery, so that the connection can be retained throughout rocking movement of the head. Between the metal fitting and the conductive member, there may be provided a clicking means to lock the head at predetermined rocked angles. Provision of a discontinuity in the metal fitting for interrupting butting connection of the conductive member at a predetermined angular position of the head allows normal ON-OFF switching means to be omitted.

5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Pmmznmwm 3797.109

SHEET 2 [IF 5 PATENTEDMAR 1 9 I974 SHEEI 3 IF 5 PmEmmm 19 19.14 3.797L109 SHLEI S [If 5 ELECTRIC'SHAVER WITH RQCKABLE SHAVING HEAD This invention relates to electric shavers and, more particularly, to a rockable head type electric shaver in which the shaving head can be freely rocked with respect to the shaver body.

In conventional general type electric shavers, the shaving head of the shaver is stationarily secured to the body and, therefore, in order to keep the blade surface of the shaver always in effectively close contact with the users skin, it has been necessary to bend the arm or to rehold the body of the-shaver. The present invention is to solve such inconvenience by providing the shaving head rockable with respect to the shaver body.

A main object of the present invention is to provide an electric shaver wherein the angle of setting the shaving head with respect to the shaver body which is utilized as holding part of the shaver can be adjusted preferably in clicking manner so that shaving can be made always in a comfortable posture.

' Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric shaver in which electric contact between the rockable shaving head generally including the motor and the shaver body being battery holder which are separately provided can be always stably maintained.

Still anotherobject of the present invention is to provide an electric shaver in which the arrangement for bearing the shaving head whose setting angle is adjustable is very simple and which is very easy to assemble and disassemble.

The present invention shall be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electric shaver of the present invention of which shaving head is shown as rotated by about 45;

FIG. 2 is a partly sectioned plan view of the electric shaver in FIG. 1 with the shaving head at normally reset position;

FIG. 3 is a partly sectioned elevation of the electric shaver in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is a right-hand side elevation of the electric shaver shown in FIG 2 'with a component part removed; I

FIG. 4b is a left-hand side elevation of the shaver shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the shaver as shown in FIGS. 1-4 as disassembled into the respective parts;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary magnified perspective view of motor contacting arrangement in the shaver of FIG. 5;

ifications, alternatives and equivalent arrangements withing the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings, la and lb are power source batteries, 2 is a shaver body case containing the batteries 1a and lb, 8 is a battery contacting metal fitting connected with the cathode of the battery Ia and with the anode of the battery lb through a power source contacting spring 9a and a contacting projection 9b, respectively, 10a is a battery contacting metal fitting connected with the anode of the battery lla, 10b is a battery contacting metal fitting connected with the anode of the battery 1b, 11- is a switch provided on the side of the shaver body case or holding part, 30 and 3b are a pair of arms provided as opposed to each other on both sides of the upper end of the shaver body case 2, 4 is a hair cutting blade block, 5 is a rotor of the motor and 6 is a shaving head containing the blade block 4 and motor comprising the rotor, 21 pair of stators 26 made of a permanent magnet and a pair of yokes 28. The shaving head 6 is rockably supported between the pair of arms 3a and 3b with bolts 7 and 7 screwed into both sides of the shav ing head 6 through the respective arms 3a and 3b.

Referring to FIG. 2 which showing in detail only the side of the arm 3a, 12 is a motor contacting metal fitting provided on each side of the shaving head, which is lead at-an extended end 13 into the interior of the shaving head 6 and electrically connected with a brush (not illustrated) of the motor through a lead wire 14 (see FIG. 3). 15 is a bearing provided within each of the arms 3a and 3b. The bolt 7 or 7 borne in said bearing 15 is screwed at a threaded end into each of the yokes 28 through a washer 18 and through each motor contacting metal fitting 12 at the respective side walls of the shaving head 6. 16 is a clicking ball pressed against the motor contacting metal fitting 12 within each of the arms 3a and 3b by a spring 17. A plurality of holes 12a or concave parts which will allow said ball 16 to rest thereon and disengage therefrom so as to perform the clicking operation are provided in the motor contacting metal fitting 12 so as to form concentrical circle around the bearing axis for the shaving head, so that when the ball enters any of the holes 12a, the shaving head will be clickingly stably set at stepwise predetermined angles.

19 is an intermediate contacting spring provided within each of the arms 3a and 3b, an end of which is preferably forked into two parts 20 which are urged against the motor contacting metal fitting 12 and the other end 21 of which is fixed to the arm 3a or 3b as electrically insulated from the battery contacting metal fitting 10a or 10b through an insulator 22. A contact piece 23 formed in one of said intermediate contacting springs 19 only at the side where the switch 11 is disposed is crossed with a contact piece 24 of the battery contacting metal fitting 10a connected with the anode of the battery 1a so as normally not to contact each other.

FIG. 6 shows fragmentarily the engaging relationship between the motor contacting metal fitting 12, intermediate contacting spring 19 at the side of the switch 11 and clicking ball 16 and the electrical contacting relationship therebetween. The drawing shows the engaging state in the case where the shaving head is rotated by about with respect to the shaver body so that the face of the blade block 4 is directed to the uppermost direction. The clicking ball 16 will sequentially rest on the sideward holes 12a so as to lock the head in therespective positions depending on the rotation of the motor contacting metal fitting 12 due to the rotation of the shaving head 6 so that the ball 16 and the spring 17 urging the same will perform the stepwise clicking rotation of the head. In the present embodiment, the arrangement is adapted to perform the clicking lock of the rotated head at three different angular positions and for this purpose three of the holes 12a will be sufficient. However, the drawing shows the motor contacting metal fitting 12 provided with five holes 12a, the reason for which is that the metal fitting will be thereby adapted for use in common to both sides of the shaving head. 12b is at least a pair of fixing nails for securing the motor contacting metal fitting 12 to the shaving head 6.

Turing back to FIG. 2, the switch 11 has a contact piece 25, which is provided at its free end with contacting leaves 230 (FIG. 5) which are to be engaged and disengaged with the contact piece 23 and also with contacting leaves 240 (FIG. 5) which are to be engaged and disengaged with the contact piece 24.

Now, when the switch 1 l is slidden to connect the respective contact pieces 24 and 23 of the battery contacting metal fitting and intermediate contacting spring 19 with each other through the contact piece 25 of the switch, there will be formed a closed circuit, referring to FIG. 2, of one of motor terminals (not shown) motor contacting metal fitting 12 at righthand side intermediate contacting spring 19 at righthand side contact piece 25 of the switch 1 1 anode of the battery la cathode of the battery la battery contacting metal fitting 8 anode of the battery 1b cathode of the battery 1b intermediate contacting spring 19 at left-hand side left-hand side motor contacting metal fitting 12 the other one of motor terminals, thereby the batteries will be connected with the motor and the motor will be thus driven so that shaving may be made by the driving of the blade block 4.

26 is a stator, 27 is a stator fixing spring, 28 is a yoke, 29 is a motor housing and 30 is a decorative plate covering the bearing in the respective arms 3a and 3b.

The bearing 15 is adapted not to be rotated following the rotation of the shaving head, by means of antirotation stubs 15a which are locked in receptacles 31 provided at the respective arms 3a and 3b (see FIG. 5).

As described above, in the electric shaver of the present invention, a pair of the arms 3a and 3b opposed to each other are formed on both sides of the upper end of the shaver body case 2 containing the batteries 1a and lb, the shaving head 6 containing the blade block 4 and motor is removably provided between the above mentioned arms 3a and 3b and is rotatably borne with the bolts 7 and 7 respectively passed through each of said arms 3a and 3b and, further, the batteries and motor are electrically connected with each other through said arms so that the angle of setting the blade block 4 with respect to the shaver body case may be adjusted and shaving may be made in a comfortable posture while keeping the surface of the blade always in close contact with the skin.

Since, further, the electric connection between two components of the shaver wherein the mutual positional relation of the motor within the shaving head to the batteries contained in the shaver body case is to be varied is performed in the manner of resilient contact between the motor contacting metal fitting and the intermediate contacting spring extending along the respective arms of the shaver body case, an always stable electric conducting contact can be more positively established even' during the rocking or rotating movement of the shaving head, comparing with the cases where ordinary lead wires and the like are used for the said connection.

While the shaving head of the shaver according to the present invention is provided in rockable manner, further, the rockable coupling between the head and the shaver body is provided with the clicking or slidable locking function and, therefore, in case the user shaves hairs while holding the shaving head instead of the shaver body case, the latter can be prevented from free swinging and thus the shaver can be comfortably used.

It is also possible to prevent the number of required parts from being increased as the clicking function of the rotation of shaving head is performed by utilizing the motor contacting metal fitting.

The electric conductive coupling between the shaving head and the shaver body can be made more effective since the intermediate contacting spring is forked into two at the rotatable contacting end.

Further, as compared with the case of rotatably bearing the entire shaving head with ball bearings or the like, in the present invention, the structure of bearing the shaving head 6 is very simple and is very easy to assemble or disassemble. Further, as the shaving head 6 is rotatably borne with the bolts 7 and 7 and is at the same time held with both arms 3a and 3b, when the shaving head 6 is rotated, both arms will act as guide means to stabilize the rotary motion of the shaving head 6 and, even in case an external twisting force acts on the shaving head 6 as a reaction from the skin during the shaving, the shaving head 6 will be positively supported by the arms and, therefore, the bearing means bearing the bolts 7 and 7' and others will not be broken.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment wherein the present invention is applied to the electric shaver having the trimmer blades. As shown, the trimmer blades 32 are disposed in the above described rockable shaving head 6 so that the angle of the trimmer blades 32 with respect to the shaver body case normally used as the holding part for the shaving can be varied. Therefore, the user is enabled to freely select any proper angle of the trimmer blades depending on the positions of hairs to be trimmed and thus to enjoy the advantages of the rockable function of the shaving head according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the motor contacting metal fitting 12. In this case, the metal fitting 12 is provided with a pair of disengaging holes having a diameter larger than the width of the forked ends 20 of the intermediate contacting spring 19, at positions where the two ends 20 of the spring 19 engage the fitting 12. When the shaving head 6 is rotated to a proper angular position with respect to the shaver body and the forked ends 20 of the intermediate contacting spring 19 fall in the large holes 12c, the electric contact of the intermediate contact spring 19 with the motor contacting metal fitting 12 will be broken so that the motor will be no more driven. That is, in the present embodiment, the shaver is not required to be provided with the additional switching elements so that the number of required parts can be remarkably reduced. It will be noted that the holes 120 may be replaced by any shaped cut-outs similarly sized and positioned.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric shaver comprising a shaver body case containing means for connecting the shaver to a power source, said case being provided with a pair of arms opposed to each other on both sides of an end thereof and having a pair of conductive metal fittings extending along at least one of said pair of arms, each arm defining a bearing part and said conductive metal fittings being connected with the power source connecting means in the case; and a shaving head containing a blade block and a motor for driving a shaving blade in said block, said shaving head being supported rotatably between said pair of arms of the shaver body case and provided in the bearing part on at least one side of the shaving head with a pair of conductive plate members connected with the motor, said pair of conductive metal fittings being in contact respectively with the conductive plate members provided in the shaving head.

2. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of holes are provided in at least one of said conductive plate members along a circle concentric with the supporting axis for the shaving head, and a ball inserted inside the corresponding arm of the case body is pushed into one of said holes by a spring.

3. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein a cut-out having a larger diameter than the part of said conductive metal fittings contacting said conductive plate member is provided in the conductive plate member so that the power source to the motor will be interrupted at a predetermined rotated angle of the shaving head. I

4. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein said conductive metal fittings are provided with forked ends both of which contact said conductive plate members so that conductive contact of the fittings with said conductive plate members will be ensured.

5. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein each of said conductive metal fittings extends along a different one of said arms, and each of said conductive plate members is provided on the bearing part on a different side of said shaving head for connection with the corresponding metal fitting on that side of the shaving head. 

1. An electric shaver comprising a shaver body case containing means for connecting the shaver to a power source, said case being provided with a pair of arms opposed to each other on both sides of an end thereof and having a pair of conductive metal fittings extending along at least one of said pair of arms, each arm dEfining a bearing part and said conductive metal fittings being connected with the power source connecting means in the case; and a shaving head containing a blade block and a motor for driving a shaving blade in said block, said shaving head being supported rotatably between said pair of arms of the shaver body case and provided in the bearing part on at least one side of the shaving head with a pair of conductive plate members connected with the motor, said pair of conductive metal fittings being in contact respectively with the conductive plate members provided in the shaving head.
 2. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of holes are provided in at least one of said conductive plate members along a circle concentric with the supporting axis for the shaving head, and a ball inserted inside the corresponding arm of the case body is pushed into one of said holes by a spring.
 3. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein a cut-out having a larger diameter than the part of said conductive metal fittings contacting said conductive plate member is provided in the conductive plate member so that the power source to the motor will be interrupted at a predetermined rotated angle of the shaving head.
 4. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein said conductive metal fittings are provided with forked ends both of which contact said conductive plate members so that conductive contact of the fittings with said conductive plate members will be ensured.
 5. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein each of said conductive metal fittings extends along a different one of said arms, and each of said conductive plate members is provided on the bearing part on a different side of said shaving head for connection with the corresponding metal fitting on that side of the shaving head. 